What Once Was Mine
by The Evil Maker
Summary: Many years after being transformed into an ice statue by her sister's magic: Anna comes back to life in the XXI century and meets a curious blonde named 'Rapunzel'; Discover how their lives changes and they develop a strong friendship to stand lots of tragedies together, eventually falling in love with each other. (Post-Frozen) (Modern A.U.) (Rapunzel x Anna).
1. When Two Worlds Collide

**Important Author's Notes: **There are a lot of things behind this tale: The idea for this fic just popped in my head and it was very good to let it be wasted on a "maybe later" promise; it's been highly inspired by many non-incestuous elsanna modern universes fanfictions that I found myself reading over the last couple of weeks.

I wanted to make of this story a nice "See you soon" for you guys because I will disconnect from writing for an unknown amount of time; and don't worry: The next update (which I don't know when it's gonna' be) will be the Anna's introduction to Halo: CE, is just that I needed a rest from it to try something different, a "What if?" Because: In fact, this fic will be updated again when people less expect it.

So with nothing more I leave guys with this little experiment of mine: Will this become a multiple-chaptered story? The power is on you and your reviews; you guys are the best, I'll see you all again in the close future, may the divines smile at you all.

The character's names and locations mentioned here belongs to their respective owners; This fictional tale was only made with entertaining purposes.

"Frozen" & "Tangled" are trademarks property of The Walt Disney Company and related, 2014 all rights reserved.

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><p><strong>What Once Was Mine<strong>

**Episode I: When Two Worlds Collide**

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><p><strong>A Frozen Hope, A Broken Dream…<strong>

The storm suddenly stopped: The devastating blizzard that swallowed the entire kingdom finally ceded to reveal a frozen-ship graveyard that once was the crowded Arendalle's dock, followed by the cry of a broken queen.

Princess Anna barely dragged her feet across the ocean turned into ice under her steps; between deadly chills: She looked down to see her palms, her fingers slowly becoming solid pieces of frost, her previously strawberry blonde hair paled to be as white as snow and the freckles in her skin were replaced by light traces of snowflakes beneath her tissues.

The freezing curse that threatened her heart, summoned by the powers of her own sister was almost finished on turning her into an ice statue.

"K-k-krist-t-toff?" A weak mutter escaped from Anna's throat when the raging winds disappeared, allowing a silhouette in the distance to be seen, beyond the half-sunk boats in the frozen waters.

To her fortune: It was the man who helped her from the beginning to find the lost queen of Arendalle, the sister she thought lost many years ago.

Kristoff: The man Anna didn't knew she loved, until now… when it was too late.

"ANNA!" He yelled worriedly, running towards the strawberry blonde princess, who also walked, almost crawling in his direction with sporadic movements, her hands rested in front of her chest, intending to keep some warmth.

Anna smiled wearily and let go a lonely tear at the little hope of living to see another day… which vanished in the blink on an eye when, at the other side she spotted Elsa: Her sister, kneeling completely broken, her ice dress fully sprawled in the soil.

"E-e-Elsa?" Behind her, Hans of the southern isles was approaching silently with a sword in hand, he managed to fool them both, specially Anna by making her believe that love at first sight was real… and now she was going to pay the price for such ignorance, with the blood of the queen spilled and a betrayer in Arendalle's throne.

Anna couldn't let that happen…

She glanced back at Kristoff, who was getting closer at fast speed, she could see the despair in his face, clear as water; the strawberry blonde responded with a near identical look, she shut her eyes tightly and bit her lip to suppress the urge to cry.

There was something else she had to do…

Parting her sight from the iceman, drawing a confused glare of him: Anna began to walk in the opposite direction, leading to where Hans and Elsa were, hastening her steps with the remaining energies within her body when she saw the traitor brandishing his weapon to execute her sister.

"NOOO!" (THOOOM!) The strawberry blonde shouted a pitiful cry as she arrived to the scene, she raised her hand in the air, blocking the sword's fall, the cutting edge parted in two when it made contact with the princess's fingers, releasing a loud, powerful blast, which threw Hans to the ground, away from the queen.

"Anna? ANNA!? No, no, no… please… no…" Anna exhaled one last breath, being able to hear Elsa's laments before the frost took full control; the ice in her heart finally expanded to the rest of her body, making of the strawberry blonde a lifeless statue, crystallized in the same position she adopted to protect her sister… and in which she would remain for the rest of the eternity…

After that the darkness conquered: All sounds in the world became quieter echoes that culminated in total silence.

Then she just fell asleep… For Anna… That was the end of everything…

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><p><strong>Caught Somewhere In Time…<strong>

"Okay, if nobody else's gonna' say it, I will: This was a bad idea!"

Rapunzel said at her two companions, closing behind her the door of her friend's car; branches and leaves crunched under her feet as she came out of the vehicle.

"Oh! '_Punzie' is scared_?" Flynn teased, getting out of the car as well, surrounding it to gather with the girl at the other side of the driver's seat.

"You're one to talk, 'Eugene'…" The blonde answered, putting special emphasis on the last word "Do I have to remind you that time when a savage, deadly chameleon almost made piss your pants and I had to take care of?" She continued, crossing her arms and sticking out her tongue with a proud look on her emerald green eyes.

"… You wouldn't dare…" The brown-haired guy replied, clearly indignant "Besides, you promised that you would never call me Euge-… well, that!"

"Just as you know how much I hate that 'Punzie' thing… two can play that game…"

"Guys, please stop fighting" Giselle intruded in the conversation "This is supposed to be fun, we don't have to ruin it with useless discussions" she completed, combing her long, wavy orange-tinted hair with her fingers to adjust the strap of her camera around her neck.

"Well, excuse me if I don't enjoy that much the fact of being in the forest, outside of the town at nine o'clock with no signal on my phone!" Just as Rapunzel said: The three teenagers were in the middle of the woods with the moon above their heads, standing in front of a dark, rocky cave, which only connection to civilization was an old, rusted sign of 'no trespassing' at its entrance.

Not a single light could be seen beyond the trees; they were hopelessly alone in that forest.

"We could've gone to the museum or investigated on internet like normal people does!" The blonde resumed, pouting her bottom lip in huge disagreement.

"And where's the fun in that?" Flynn answered with a grin as he began to walk towards the cavern "We could return here another time to make a picnic or something"

"Oh! Oh! I agree with that! It would be amazing!" Giselle squealed cheerfully, following him close.

"Wait, you can't be serious! You can't expect me to enter in tha-" Rapunzel tried to protest but she was cut off by the flash of her friend's camera burning her eyes; she just loved to take lots of photos.

She blinked repeatedly to focus her sight anew, but for the moment she did, her companions were already vanished in the darkness of the cave.

"Crap…" Sighing in defeat: The blonde let her hands fall to the sides, blowing a loose strand of golden hair out of her face, she adjusted her glasses, preparing to start a chase.

"Alright! But don't blame me if we end as inspiration for a 'Texas chainsaw massacre' movie or something!" She yelled, taking out a small lantern from one pocket of her brown leather jacket and leading to the entrance of the cavern as well.

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><p>Rapunzel entered in the cave's obscurity, the moonlight barely made act of presence inside, revealing a few rocks in the soil; she could hear the echoes of her friend's voices at the background, along with waterdrops that just made the place even more uncomfortable.<p>

The blonde cautiously walked each step, illuminating with her lantern a way across the stones and stalagmites protruding from the ground.

"Can't believe I'm getting through this just for a damn school work…" She murmured, having troubles to keep the balance in the slippery surface of the soil.

"Uh Guys!" Rapunzel shouted at her friends in the front "You mind waiting a little bit!? I'm having some difficulties back here! … Guys!?" Even when her calls sounded on the entire cavern, Giselle and Flynn never heard the blonde, they were very far ahead, still conversing about the things they would bring to their hypothetic future picnic.

"God damn it…" Once again Rapunzel grumbled, usually she was serene and tolerant but being inside a dark, unknown place, away from society wasn't helping to calm her nerves, neither her companions ignoring her.

It was their idea after all! She only wanted to stay warm and safe in the coziness of her home, but instead of that she was trapped in this cave to do some homework for their ridiculous history class, because Rapunzel promised to her friends and herself that she would go out more often, to try 'new stuff' they called it…

So the blonde kept venturing deeper into the cave, shivering in cold and fear by cause of the soft breeze that lowered the temperature and made echoes in the walls; she brought the coat of her jacket closer to her face, then wrapping her free arm around her waist to retain some heat;

Each exhalation she drew tarnished the crystals of her glasses because of her breath's condensation, making visibility harder, and the environment getting darker the more she walked wasn't doing things any easier.

"Ah! Shit…" Rapunzel tripped with one rock standing in her way, making her drop her glasses, she froze in her step and carefully crouched to pick them from the ground, but being as blind as a bat made such simple task almost impossible, and no: The lantern didn't helped, it just blurred even more her already unfocused view.

Running out of options: The blonde kneeling in the ground slipped her hands over every stone near to her surroundings in order to find her eyeglasses.

"Aha! Gotcha!" Rapunzel exclaimed silently when she eventually found and recovered her glasses, in that same instant she put them back in her face, blinking to clear her sight again with the crystals in their place, then disposing to lift herself from the soil and continue with her wander.

"HOLY SHIT!" Unexpectedly the blonde cried terrified, immediately after refocusing her vision when, thanks to her lantern she spotted a huge, hairy tarantula right in front of the hand she still had resting in the soil; the arachnid already had adopted an attack stance, raising its legs and sticking out its black fangs against the frightened girl.

Without thinking it too much: Rapunzel quickly withdrew her hand and crawled away from the spider, not even bothering to look behind herself, she just kept staring at the creepy insect, to be sure that it wouldn't try to follow her.

"AAHHHHHOOOWWW-!" For that very same reason the blonde didn't noticed the fact that her back never reached a wall as she continued retreating… instead she accidentally entered into a big crevice in the cave's rock and then fell down, rolling over a slope, which leaded to a lower level of the cavern.

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><p>"Ugh… Worst. Day. Ever…" Rapunzel huffed when she landed in an underground chamber, followed by minuscule stones and small traces of dust-clouds; even though it wasn't a great fall: The blonde felt sore and disoriented when her spine hit the soil; she simply remained in that position to recover from the impact, lying in the ground with a lost glare on the ceiling.<p>

After a few seconds she slowly turned face down on the ground; fortunately this time she didn't lost her glasses, only her lantern escaped from her palm's grip, and didn't went very far.

Rapunzel stretched her arm to reach her lantern, she took it and got up from the land, wiping away some dust attached to her jacket and her blue, slightly tight jeans before pointing her light at her surroundings in order to explore the place she just got into.

Nothing was visible beyond two meters ahead: The chamber's interior nearly was complete darkness… nothing… but something the moonlight intruding from a fissure in the roof made glow and highlighted like aerial lamps in theater.

Rapunzel took off her glasses and cleaned its crystals with her black t-shirt, rubbing her eyes and putting on her glasses back, staring in disbelief at what the moonshine illuminated gracefully:

It was a statue in the chamber's center: An ice statue of a young girl in formal clothing, real sized; she seemed to be wearing a bodice above a skirt descending to a pair of leather boots beneath and a long cape that hung from her shoulders to the ground.

This frozen lady was captured in a curious gesture: She had her right hand in the air, looking upwards as if she were trying to reach… or impend something; her clothes were undulated, like waving by cause of the wind.

It wasn't possible seeing trough the frost sculpture: The figure was completely blue from the inside to the surface, not even light was able to reveal its interior.

Submerged in intrigue: The blonde slowly walked towards the statue to get a better image of it; the more she got closer to the ice, the more temperature dropped, to the point she could see tiny clouds escaping from within her mouth, but she didn't care.

Rapunzel stood up right in front of the frozen girl, first noticing that she was the same height than hers, then she carefully moved her hand upwards and ran her fingers across the sculpture's face, studying her facial features.

The details were stunning and breath-taking, each attribute was done and placed with millimetrical precision: Rapunzel could see small traces of what appeared to be freckles scattered over a pointy, round and tiny nose right above a pair of elegant, thin lips slightly parted, showing teeth in the gap.

The frozen lady had her hair in the form of twin braided pigtails resting in her shoulders; even the statue's eyes had lashes, giving an incomparable sensation of realism and leaving place to the thought that this girl had life before, instead of being a simple artistic expression.

But beyond all that… her expression… A hopeful, yet hurt and broken look to the sky painted the sculpture's face; it made you feel the pain she was feeling during the moment of her creation.

Rapunzel cupped the ice girl's cheeks between her palms, oblivious to the fact that her fingertips were as cold as the statue itself, she was too focused in the frozen lady's prettiness to care about any other stimulus.

"You are beautiful… who are you? …" Rapunzel questioned in a gentle mutter, staring loosely at the sculpture's eyes, nearly hypnotized.

"RAPUNZEL!"

"Huh?" The blonde was dragged out of her trance by the sudden call of her name; she instinctively turned back to the crevice from where she entered to this chamber, seeing her two friends standing outside it.

"Are you alright!? We heard you screaming!" Flynn shouted, illuminating the cave's lower level with his lantern.

"I'm here guys! Everything's fine!" Rapunzel replied from inside, refocusing her attention on the statue before her.

"Are you hurt? You need any help to come out?" Giselle also yelled, holding strongly her camera in front of her chest as if to protect herself.

"No but you guys have to see this!" The blonde ignored the question "You're not gonna' believe what I just found!"

"You found something!?" Flynn exclaimed in disbelief, beginning his descend over the slope that connected the surface with the underground "'Cause we found nothing by ourselves!"

Standing already beneath the crevice: The brown-haired guy climbed again over the rocky slant, just enough to offer a hand to his female companion above, who smiled and took it in trust, being helped to descend at the chamber; because not all gentlemen were dead.

"So what did you-NO WAY!" Walking deeper into the chamber: Giselle and Flynn nearly dropped their jaws and lanterns to the ground, highly stunned at the scene of their friend in front of an ice sculpture of unknown origin.

"Rapunzel… you… Made THIS!? It's so beautiful!" Giselle blurted innocently, being already gathered with the blonde, covering her mouth with her both hands and her cyan eyes opened wide as plates.

"What!? Giselle, how would I even-… No, it was already here, I think…" Rapunzel answered, throwing a perplexed glare at the naïve girl beside her.

"Whoa… Girls: I think we have our homework… and perhaps more" Flynn said, still having troubles to believe what his eyes were witnessing.

"We should go back, it's almost eleven o'clock; Gis: Take a good picture so we can leave" The blonde commanded and her friend nodded, then she began to withdraw from the statue's side in direction to the crevice at the back.

"Punzie, wait" Rapunzel was stopped by Flynn's hold in her arm, she turned on her heel to face him.

"You're not seriously thinking in leaving it here, right?" He asked.

"Flynn, what are talking about!?" The blonde replied "That thing must weight a ton, and what if it belongs to someone else? We could get in trouble by just being in here"

"Ah c'mon! Of who's gonna' be? The place is completely abandoned!"

"I finally got a good picture!" Giselle arrived to the conversation "We can leave now if… what's going on?" She questioned confused at her debater friends.

"You hadn't stopped to think that maybe the statue is the reason behind that 'No trespassing' sign at the entrance!?" Rapunzel argued.

"No, actually I think the sign is there because there are poisonous gases inside the cave" Flynn said, eliciting wide-opened eyes and a quiet gasp from his companions.

"Hah! Just kidding!" He resumed "But seriously, think about it: We could call the people from the national museum and tell them that we found an archeological treasure or something, they would pay us well if we deliver it to them! And Professor Eric would give us a kick-ass note in his project! You see!? No harm and everyone win!"

Rapunzel kept silence, she fixed her glare on the ground, considering her friend's proposal; Flynn was insistent and persuasive, he had great ideas when he wanted to, she couldn't deny that; the blonde closed her eyes and took a deep breath in resignation before start talking anew.

"So… Even if I agree…" Rapunzel spoke "How are gonna' get the statue out of here? And where are we going to put it anyway? The museum won't be open until tomorrow in the morning"

"I have a few ropes in my pick-up" Flynn replied "That's how we will wet the statue out of here; all we have to do is carry it outside, I'm sure the three of us can!" Rapunzel gave him a sarcastic look.

"And about a place to hide it… well… I don't know, If only one of us was rich and her parents were out of town…" The brown-haired guy gazed suggestively with a slight grin at the blonde in the group.

"Wait, what!? No way! No! Flynn, No!" Rapunzel protested, denying with her head.

"Come on Rapunzel! Your dad is out of the town and your mom won't be in home until tomorrow in the afternoon! Long after the museum people had picked up the statue!"

"Are you crazy!? Where the hell am I going to hide a real-sized statue? In my bedroom!? Under my bed!? … Besides, I'm not rich…"

"You're not?" Flynn cocked an eyebrow "You live in a two floor mansion with a gigantic front courtyard, your father is a doctor and your mother a successful real estate saleswoman, you have a 60 inch TV with surround system and both Xbox 360 and Xbox One in your living room!"

The blonde just frowned and pouted her bottom lip, crossing her arms at those declarations.

"Shall I continue?" Flynn teased.

"… My courtyard…" Rapunzel began "… Is not gigantic… just… big... But that's not the point! I mean: Why we don't put the statue in YOUR house!?"

"I can't! Unlike you my parents are in home…"

"Yeah, and my parents are fumigating my house, we had a cockroaches plague, Yuck!" Giselle commented, shivering at the mental image of the aforementioned insect.

"So, what's gonna' be Punzie? Can we count on you?" The brown-haired guy questioned the blonde girl.

Rapunzel said nothing in response; she parted her sight from her friend and took off her glasses, pinching her nosebridge as her mind fought against a storm of thoughts about the consequences of their doing. _Is not stealing if it doesn't belong to anybody, right?_

"I don't know… what do you think, Gis?" The blonde put on her eyeglasses again, turning to the other girl with the camera behind her.

"Oh! I… I-ummm…" Giselle babbled, scratching the back of her head, unsure of what to say "I-I think that-that we should do it, I mean… We would be helping our community, I love contribute to arts and culture! And we could donate the money to the poor people" She completed with a huge smirk.

"Yeah… scratch that last thing, but I guess that's fine with me" Flynn said, both of them staring hopeful at the blonde, making her a bit nervous.

"Alright…" Rapunzel breathed, letting her hands fell to the sides in defeat.

"Flynn: Go get your car, park it the closest you can to the cave, this is gonna' be a tough deal…"

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><p>(PRAM!) The white door of Rapunzel's bedroom was abruptly opened with a thunderous slam when she kicked it in order to make a way inside.<p>

"Okay! One last push! On three!" The blonde encouraged, then she, Flynn and Giselle, with great-collective effort lifted up the ice statue a few centimeters above the floor, just enough for them to carry it right next to Rapunzel's bed.

(THUM!) The frost sculpture made a hollow-loud echo within the dormitory when it was replaced again on the carpet.

"Uh-Ugh! A-Are we d-done?" Giselle breathed wearily with a hand on her chest, feeling her heart palpitating wildly against her palm by cause of the demanding physical endeavor.

"Huh! Li-like… Yeah! I think we're done for now!" Flynn answered, gasping repeatedly due to the lack of oxygen in his lungs, looking at his female companions, who were sharing the same symptoms than his.

"G-good… E-enough exercise… for this year…" Rapunzel wheezed with her hands resting on her knees, part of a weak stance "S-s-so… what now?"

After a few more minutes of panting: The three teenagerss recovered their breath, being proud at how they managed to lift and transport a possibly two tons-weighted frost statue, keeping it completely harmless in the process.

Well… they couldn't say the same about the walls and the floor, which had suffered light scratches during the sculpture's pass… but at least the statue was alright!

"What now? We wait" Flynn said "I think it's time for us to leave, it's already past midnight, let's go Gis, I'll drive you home"

"Oh thank you so much Flynn!" Giselle replied, nearly overreacting as usual, but she couldn't help it "There's nothing else you need before we leave Rapunzel?"

"Nah! I'll be fine" The blonde shrugged "All I have to do is call the museum, hopefully they'll be still attending the phone at least; everything will be fine for as long as the statue remains in my room… come on guys, I'll walk you to the door"

With that the three of them left the blonde's bedroom, leaving behind the ice girl by itself.

"Look at this place, and you keep saying you're not rich…" Flynn mocked, taking a last glimpse of the big dormitory before stepping out completely of it.

"Don't start with that again, Flynn…" Rapunzel rolled her eyes in a friendly motion, pushing away her friend off the door, eliciting a few giggles from Giselle.

The stairs at the middle of the second floor's hall filled with the random and loud ramblings of the three students as they went down to the house's entrance, indicating the end of their day, yet agreeing to see each other again among the hugs and little pecks in cheeks, part of their usual goodbye ritual.

Rapunzel waved their friends one last time before they vanished completely in her home's courtyard covered by the dark of the night; when she finally lost sight of them: The blonde closed the door of her mansion behind her, disposing to lead upstairs anew to get the deep rest she needed.

_Tomorrow's gonna' be a long day…_

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><p><strong>A Different World…<strong>

A light sparkle began to glow in Anna's chest, slowly melting away the thick layer of frost above her black bodice with golden floral motifs; then such little gleam only kept becoming brighter and brighter to the point of resembling a tiny blue sun illuminating every corner of the room.

The small ice absence in the girl's bust expanded all over her arms, legs and head until the last fiber of her body was brought back to life, creating a puddle on the carpet beneath her feet.

Finally: The strawberry blonde princess found herself able to move after god knows how long.

"I WON'T LET YOU- … Wait, what? What is this?" Anna breathed deeply, thinking that she still was facing the betrayer; for her everything suddenly changed in the blink of an eye, or what the flutter of a hummingbird lasts; perplexed: she looked at her surroundings, noticing that she wasn't in the isolated kingdom of Arendalle anymore.

"Elsa? Kristoff? Olaf!? … Sven?" Her sister wasn't there, nor her beloved or her friends; Anna found herself standing in the middle of a fancy-looking dormitory: The upholstered walls and roof were of a pure white, she saw then a huge wooden wardrobe occupying the entire backwall, also white-painted; in front of her there was a double bed with quilted blankets and several cushions lying in its mattress, guess of what color…

Everything in that room caressed of colors; giving a comfortable, nearly royal sensation to the place; only a big window behind the strawberry blonde contrasted with this esthetic; allowing the moon to be seen among the clouds in the nightsky.

"… H…H-Hans? …" It wasn't the most adequate question, asked to the wrong person, but Anna had to try, right? She wouldn't lose anything with just asking, besides: What else she could lose this far?

Even when this dormitory had a friendly appearance: There where inside some sorts of objects that the strawberry blonde had never seen or read about before, could they be torture instruments? This idea suddenly popped in her head, it didn't seemed very likely, but still the aura of those unknown items scattered all over the bedroom weren't giving a likable feeling.

Anna simply couldn't ignore the fact that she was alone and defenseless in a strange land, with no knowledge of how did she got there, or in what ended the infinite crisis she was fighting just a few seconds ago; she was trembling, mostly because her clothes were fully soaked due to the melted frost, but she also suffered of terror chills.

The strawberry blonde princess froze in her stance, her arms surrounding her waist as if to create a shield over herself; she took shy glimpses around the bedroom between chattering teeth, seeking with her eyes for an escape route, but that would prove to be a difficult task since she was afraid of even moving inside that place.

(CLING!) Anna gave a small hop in both fear and surprise when the click of one of the two doors at the background reached her ears; instinctively she retraced in her steps until she got herself cornered.

"Oh no! What should I do!?" Anna muttered frightened with her back against the wall, what else she could do? The door slowly opened, revealing a young, blonde girl with big green-emerald eyes, wearing a black shirt and a pair of blue pants like she had never seen before; the girl was holding one of those strange-looking objects next to her ear.

This mysterious lady had a single lock of hair painted in blue, standing out over the golden cascade that hung from the top or her head to her lower back, it reminded her to her own lock of white hair among her strawberry blonde curles, but wait... something wasn't right.

"Yeah? National museum… I would like to- … Holy shit…" Rapunzel let her phone hit the floor when she entered in her bedroom and surprisingly the ice statue was gone…

On its place she found a youthful girl with pale skin adorned with freckles; platinum blonde hair combed in twin-braided pigtails resting in her shoulders, from them it descended a violet winter cape, wrapping around a long, blue dress and a black bodice: The same exact clothes the sculpture had… _No… that can't be… right?_

Both girls remained completely still in their places, not a single word floated in the air between them; the time seemed to froze as they studied each other with their gazes, only waiting for the moment when one of them would take the initiative to speak…


	2. Evening the Odds

Every time I saw one of those teenage dramas on TV (Mostly on "MTV") I always told to myself: _"I can write better shit than that!"_, and here is my attempt to prove that I can; for some reason people (_and me too :D_) seem to like a lot those modern universes fictions, so here's my contribution to that pile, that's why this tale became so special for me and it's getting a considerable part of my attention.

I know I tend to bitch a lot with reviews, but this time feedback will be really appreciated because I'm experimenting with several new things for me, I need to know if this fic is going in the right direction, things are building up slowly, I'm aware of that but I promise it will worth it.

_So… don't be an ass and leave a comment? _

By the way: Merry Christmas and Happy 2015 to everyone, I will try to be back soon with another update, until then enjoy and may the divines smile at you all!

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><p><strong>What Once Was Mine<strong>

**Episode II: Evening The Odds**

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><p>The wind froze still as flesh did the opposite; it was like standing in front of a mirror: Green-jade orbs met Sapphire-blue ones in total quietness for what could've been minutes… or even hours: Time hovered away without being noticed as two different cultures, two incredibly distant worlds clashed at the same point of the universe.<p>

Breaths were held in throats, bodies were paralyzed as rock and eyelids maintained as open as humanly possible, right pointed against who was forwards; not even the slightest involuntary sound made apparition in the air.

The curious blonde and the formerly-ice princess analyzed each other with deep looks and hanging jaws, undeniably impressed… or perhaps frightened? Stunned? Perplexed? Neither of them could know…

'_There's something in her…' _She thought… A strange feeling that Anna wasn't capable of categorize: _Fear? Anxiety? Intimidation? No… _It was something else, distinct, but still familiar that replaced doubts momently with a weird sensation of safeness.

_Intrigue_

She couldn't tell if it was because of those golden fibers adorning the top of her head, or that single ocean-blue curl standing out from the rest; might be her fair, seemingly flawless skin too; The princess simply wasn't certain.

She also thought about the eccentric clothes wrapping around her body, nothing like what she had seen previously, just as it could be the way this particular outfit surrounded the slender figure before her, very elegant and nicely provided with curves on the places it should have.

The shivers surprisingly disappeared: Anna never had problems to recognize beauty in others, especially when it was more than evident.

Her stance relaxed: She couldn't help but stare deeply at the curious blonde's complexion, losing the track of time.

"_Okay! No need to panic… The statue's gone! And there's a strange girl that looks exactly as the statue in the middle of a puddle where the statue used to be! Maybe Flynn was right and there actually was some weird shit in the cave… I'm going to kill him…"_

Rapunzel was more than submerged in her thoughts, fighting her own demons; her body and her face never showed a sign of despair… or movement, any coherent explanation she could think of felt insufficient as a definitive answer, she tilted her head to one side and let her eyelids flutter repeatedly as her brain loss the war against logic.

'_No no no, that's ridiculous: She's just a thief, who irrupted in my bedroom, right in front of my face, and took the two-ton weighed statue in just a matter of seconds, without making any noise and, again: Without me noticing! … Yeah I guess that sounds stupid too; she doesn't seem like a thief though, neither dangerous or something… Well, to be fair she doesn't look that bad… Wait, what? Yep, I'm kinda' screwed, I really should start doing something…"_

It already happened once tonight: Despite the fact that she kept on mind every possible caution: The blonde, against her will, fell in trance by cause of the other girl's prettiness, with the little difference that now she was able of appreciate in living flesh those details that marveled her the first time.

Rapunzel heard of natural platinum blondes before, yet she never thought about seeing one by herself: Her imagination wasn't capable of picturing someone with such magnificent tone of nearly metallic silver curls as her very hair, and the way it was combed in twin-braided pigtails was something she found undeniably adorable.

She also noticed that the icy-blue tone of the statue remained painting the mysterious lady's eyes; she couldn't remember having seen a purer and more vivid shade of turquoise previously.

And yes: Rapunzel was actually starting to acknowledge the idea of a statue coming to life, as crazy as that sounds; well: She's not known for being the sanest person in her neighborhood.

Speaking about cuteness: The blonde's attention was caught by the little scattering of freckles decorating the girl's nicely shaped nose and cheeks, perfectly matching the pale tone of her skin, it reminded her of yogurt ice cream with small pieces of strawberry.

So sweet it could cause diabetes.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" As if planned with certain anticipation: Both chicks broke the silent atmosphere and snapped themselves out of their self-caused hypnosis, yelling one to another resoundingly at the same time in nigh-perfect synchrony; The amazing coincidence puzzled them even more.

"I ASKED YOU FIRST! HOW DID YOU GOT IN HERE!? WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" After a few instants of remaining speechless in quietness: Two feminine voices frantically shouted anew, however their demands sounded at unison for an incredibly second occasion, vanishing any tone of seriousness this conversation could've had.

"COULD YOU JUST LET ME TALK!?" It was getting ridiculous: Annoyed shouts floated in the air between the girls in steady rhythm for an unbelievable third time; the formerly-ice princess made a pout as the blonde took off her glasses and pinched her nosebridge, undoubtedly irritated.

"S-Stand Back!" Breaking the mirror-like synchrony: Anna quickly turned on her stance and grabbed one of those strange-looking objects in a nightstand beside her, pointing it right at the blonde in a threatening manner as if it was some kind of deadly weapon.

"I-I don't want to hurt you, so I ask you to leave now or otherwise I… I-I won't hesitate in use this… THING against you!" She completed the menace, her hold in the item trembling slightly, yet she never lost the offensive stance.

"Okay: First: That's a lamp…" Rapunzel crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, Anna looked down perplexed at the 'thing' between her palms "And two: Leave!? This is my house! This is MY ROOM! I SHOULD BE THE ONE MAKING THE DEMANDS RIGHT NOW!"

Before she could articulate any kind of answer: Anna was beaten by a sudden wave of dry, loud coughing, along with freezing chills weakening her body, making her drop the so called 'lamp' and forcing her to kneel in the carpet.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?" She wasn't entirely inconsiderate, when she saw the stranger fall to the ground: Rapunzel approached filled with concern, softening her voice and crouching to level with the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"C-cold *Cough* So… C-cold-d…" Came a low reply from the princess' throat, her arms wrapping around herself to retain some heat while her gaze was fixed in the ground.

"Here, have a seat…" The curious blonde helped the platinum blonde to stand and lay down on the white-quilted sheets of her bed "I'll go get you a towel, stay here…" Said Rapunzel before making her way across the room towards one of the two doors at the back.

"T-t-thank you…" Another barely audible mutter escaped from Anna's lips, not reaching the other chick's ears; it was too hard for her talking between chattering teeth when, even keeping her eyes open was a huge requirement of energy from her part.

She just remained still in the mattress, making herself comfortable on the cloud-like softness of its blankets; she kept rubbing her forearms to generate additional warmth on her body, wandering with her eyes over the room for calming herself down.

"Here you go…" The door at the background opened: Rapunzel spoke softly as she sat beside the other girl and extended the towel she brought along her shoulders, assisting her to dry her soaked hair and clothes.

"Sooo… I guess this means you're not a thief, right? Heh…" She attempted to vanish the tension in the air, chuckling nervously.

"What? Me? No! Never…" The response came after Anna timidly raising her gaze to face the room's owner, who answered the gesture with a warm, similar look "I… I don't even know from where to start…"

"You-your name would be a nice beginning…" The blonde's thin, pink lips twitched into the slightest of the smiles.

"I'm… I'm Anna… And you?"

"Oh, my name? god, you're gonna' think I'm kidding but… Rapunzel… I'm Rapunzel…" She sighed and parted her look from the platinum blonde "I know, it's silly! my mother's always been a huge fan of those old fairy tales, to be honest I don't like it at all, everyday in school teachers pronounce wrong my name, I think it's stupid!" Right in this moment: She damned her annoying habit of babbling randomly as never before in her life.

During that sporadic mumbling: Anna took the chance to steal quick glances over Rapunzel's face, appreciating small details on her fair skin that hid from her previously, like the nearly invisible traces of freckles sprawled over her nosebridge, and the light tint of blush on her cheeks.

The princess couldn't help but focus her attention on the way the blonde's lips moved with each word emanating from them.

Rapunzel kept looking away from the other girl, focusing her gaze on one really interesting corner of her room.

"Beautiful…"

"Huh?"

"Your name…" Anna started "I don't think it's stupid, It's beautiful… different… I guess it is a little odd actually… not that I think you're weird or creepy or anything like that! I-I just wanted to say that, even when we've just met I already think you're cool! And-and-and 'Rapunzel' really fits you because… well, it sounds beautiful and you're beautiful too! Wait, what?"

"Oh… T-thank you, I guess… I mean, nobody have told me anything like that before, I… I really don't know what to say…" The comment took Rapunzel fully off guard; she scratched the back of her neck anxiously as the blush on her cheeks grew fiercer.

The princess simply replied with the most honest of the smirks, the chills were gone; she was glad that she finally met someone who shared with her the habit of mumbling nonsense for extensive amounts of time.

Then silence took full starring of the scene: Anna and Rapunzel exchanged warm looks and innocent grins for several seconds.

"S-so *cough* someone cursed you too?" The princess asked, breaking the ice; curiosity got the best of her: She was dying to know everything about the other girl, particularly the story behind that single blue curl swimming gracefully on the golden sea that crowned her head.

"E-excuse me?" Rapunzel seemed legitimate confused by such question.

"Your hair, why is it blue? My… My hair changed of color when my sister incrusted ice in my heart…" Anna completed with a depressive tone, staring loosely at the ground while her hands stroked one of her pigtails resting in her shoulder.

"What? No, I-I just decided to paint it because… well, I said 'what the heck!' So… That's what happened to you?" Even when it was in a quite fantastic way: The puzzle began to take shape, but the blonde did not wanted to inquire more than the necessary for now.

"That's… That's not even half of the story… You-you really can change your hair color anytime you want?"

"Sure! All you have to do is-… wait, did you hear that?"

"Wha-" Anna hadn't enough time to expand her question when Rapunzel got off the bed and quick but cautiously walked towards the huge window at the background, from her seat she noticed how a couple of flares danced at the other side of the glass.

"Oh fuck me!" Rapunzel exclaimed silently in pure horror when she saw the highlights of a black Mercedes-Bens entering through the also black fence gate that connected her mansion's courtyard with the rest of the neighborhood.

"She can't be here now! She shouldn't be here now! WHY IS SHE HERE NOW?!" She passed from serenity to a 'end-of-all-times' despair in less than a second, turning to deposit her questions in the princess as if she really knew what she was referring to.

"Who?" Anna replied tilting her head to one side in genuine confusion.

"My mother! She shouldn't be here until tomorrow in the afternoon! Ohgod!Ohgod!Ohgod this is so bad!" The blonde paced the floor around herself in circles, digging her fingers into her scalp "I'm dead, no, I'm more than dead, I'm fucked, Yes I'm fucked! That's it! I'm fu-"

"Hey, hey… Rapunzel: Calm down…" In sudden reaction Anna got up from the mattress and stood in front of the anxious blonde, shutting effectively her frightened rambling with a soft but authoritarian voice "Don't panic, this is not the end of the world, just tell me what do you need…"

No response came afterwards: The princess kept waiting for an answer, unconsciously locking her eyes with Rapunzel's, who simply looked back quietly, dumbstruck with her mouth half-opened for an unknown reason, Anna gathered her eyebrows in a light frown, apparently she was missing something…

Was in that moment when she realized how close they were to each other, and even worse: Anna carefully lowered her gaze to find that she was holding hands together with the blonde, a cold sweat started to grow in her forehead; inexplicably she took longer than the necessary to release them of her grasp.

"Oh-oh god! I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from, I-I'm so sorry! I-" Anna retraced in her steps awkwardly, brushing her palms on her dress to… well, she didn't knew exactly why; then a mighty blush crept over her neck to settle in her face, shouting 'embarrassment' at the four winds.

"N-n-no-no it's-its fine, I guess… I guess I needed it… thanks…" Rapunzel withdrew too, sharing the symptoms of shame with the platinum blonde "Just… Just let me think for a second" She put on her glasses and massaged her temples, regaining some composure.

"I'll go down to distract my mother, it won't take long" She resumed "If that door opens: Hide, hide until you know it's me, then… well, then I guess we'll just figure it out…"

"Don't worry-*Cough* I-I got your back" Anna nodded at the instructions and smiled, placing her hands on Rapunzel's shoulders in trust.

"Okay: I'll be right back!" With that the blonde ran out of the dormitory as quickly as she was capable of, shutting the door behind her with another kick. The formerly ice-girl was left by herself inside the room, she timidly sat on the bed once again and took the chance to clear her mind, being prepared for anything this brave new world could throw at her.

* * *

><p>Rapunzel practically flied across the second's floor hall and the stairs fast enough to rival an olympic athlete or a Lamborghini, arriving to the mansion's main door, panting for oxygen.<p>

The door slowly opened, she was greeted with the presence of a mature brunette lady with long hair in business clothing, specifically dress pants and a formal jacket, both of a beige tone.

"Mom!" She exclaimed cheerfully, throwing herself against the woman that just came to scene.

"Rapunzel! My sweetheart!" The brunette barely could both close the white-wooden door behind her and catch the exalted teenager running towards her at the same time; her green almost jade-like eyes lightened up with pure joy as she and her daughter held together in a charming embrace for a long while; making her forget her extreme fatigue due to days of working without ceasing.

"What are you doing up at this hour Rapunzel?" Asked her mother concerned, pulling out a bit from the hug and looking down at the emerald orbs that the blonde inherited from her; she couldn't help but feel touched: Her child was the living image of herself at her youth… well, excluding the obviously different hair tone.

"I just got myself too busy with some school things, not big deal!" Rapunzel shrugged with a goofy smile, she hardly was capable of restrain herself: Part of her was overexcited of seeing her mother after a long time… and other voice in her head was yelling that she still had a captive stranger in her bedroom, but for now she had to play it cool.

"I thought you wouldn't be in home until tomorrow"

"Sales haven't gone well lately, all I've been doing over the last couple of days was paperwork in the office, but I finished early and decided to come by" The brunette parted from her daughter's side and walked towards the huge 'U' wooden kitchen with island, reaching for the platinum fridge.

"I swear I'll get sick if I have to spend another night in some hotel without seeing my family" She completed as she poured a glass of milk for herself.

"Yeah, speaking about family…" Rapunzel approached to the bar and took a seat, speaking with a more serious tone "When is dad coming back?"

"Oh honey… you know these things take time, he's at the other side of the world, remember? He promised to call as soon as he had time to…"

"I really miss him…" Rapunzel fixed a saddened glare on the white floor beneath her feet; depression started to overcome her energies and replace the worries of her mind.

"We both do, sweetheart, we both do…" The brunette came closer and hugged her once again, pressing her pink lips chastely on the top of her head; she allowed her mother to sink her face in the crook of her neck, taking the chance to inhale the sweet scent of flowers and lemon emanating from her, she smiled in comfort against the fabric.

"Well: I'm going to bed, don't stay up too late" The brunette released her daughter and finished her milk "I love you" She placed a delicate peck on Rapunzel's nosetip as she put the empty glass on the bar, then both of them proceeding to go upstairs for getting the rest they were yearning for.

"Oh! I almost forgot" Her mother stopped dead on her way and added enthusiastically, turning to look at the blonde "Tomorrow we coul-"

"AAAAARRGGHHH!" (CRASH!) (THUM!)

"What was that?" Suddenly a thundering noise roared across the entire mansion, making the two women jump and freeze in surprise; it seemed to be coming from the second floor.

"At-I-I, umm…" Rapunzel, encouraged by pure anxiety, began to climb the stairs "Oh! I-I… Silly me, I should've left the-the… computer! Turned on again, Yes! That is! Be right back!" She stuttered nervously, glaring back at her confused mother, wiping the cold sweat appearing in her forehead.

"But, Rapunzel? Wait!" For the moment she finished the sentence: The blonde already had ran away towards the end of the hall, where her dormitory was; The brunnete only heard the click of the door opening, followed by the noisy slam of the same door being shut with unnecessary force, then she just remained still in silence with her eyebrows twisted, having difficulties to find a logic explanation for her daughter's baffling behavior.

* * *

><p>"S-Stand Back! I-I'M WARNING YOU!" The creature ignored and simply continued approaching, Anna retraced another step, getting nearer to the edge of the bed in which she was standing to stay out of reach from the thing depredating her archly.<p>

Though the unknown being was quite small: The princess felt intimidated, threatened by its appearance, then again not similar with anything she had seen or hear about before, of course, not knowing what to expect, and its only glowing red eye staring deeply at her wasn't helping her to think straight, neither to calm her nerves.

She tightened the grip on her trusted lamp: Anna, despite the fear clouding her judgement, sought for valor within her to face the creature; usually she was more than friendly with animals, but right at this point she couldn't let aside the idea of her life being at risk, like that time with Kristoff and the wolves… Oh the memories…

The platinum blonde bit her lip anxiously; already regretting about her future doing, convincing herself that there was no other way…

(PRAM!) "What happened!?" Unexpectedly Rapunzel stormed inside the room, prepared to beat down someone or lift a house by herself if necessary; she had her back strongly pressed against the door for preventing any unfavorable intrusion.

"THAT! TELL IT TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Anna gestured trembling with the lamp towards the thing creeping on the ground in direction to her.

The blonde instantly followed the indication, when her sight met the creature… she let her hands fall to her sides, staring in disbelief as her eyelid began to twitch; she couldn't decide if she should laugh, yell or simply ask, it was just… unbelievable.

"You… You can't be serious… that's… that's just a vacuum…"

"A… A what?" Anna muttered, frowning in confusion and lowering her improvised weapon as her face became red as a tomato, clearly ashamed.

Rapunzel giggled shrugging and walked to the bed, crouching to pick up from the carpet a black robot vacuum cleaner with a red light on the top.

"See? This is a vacuum, a robot vacuum actually, they clean dust and liquids on the floor, and its completely harmless" The blonde showed the device to the princess, placing it only a few centimeters in front of her nose "In fact: I think you are more dangerous being around here by yourself" She chuckled, offering a hand to the girl above to help her come down; Anna's cheeks became redder, opening her mouth slightly in a minuscule gap, fully hypnotized by the blonde's sympathetic smile.

"What… What kind of animal is that?" Anna asked perplexed as she took the offer and descended to firm ground.

"Is not an animal, it's just a machine" Replied Rapunzel, letting the little robot wander freely through her dormitory again "You really don't know them, do you?"

"We don't have that sort of machines in Arendalle, though my parents had a lot of crazy stuff in the castle!"

"Arendalle? You mean the 'Arendalle state', right?"

"Uhhh nope, I mean the 'Arendalle Kingdom', That's from where I am"

"Kingdom? Castle? What are you-"

"Rapunzel?"

"Oh shit! Not now!" Panic spread in the air like a disease when the voice of Rapunzel's mother echoed outside of her bedroom; the blonde didn't hesitated in running towards the door, crashing her back against it to impede the entrance.

"_Get to the bathroom! Hurry!" _Rapunzel never spoke this words, however she made motions with her head and lips to give the indication, Anna understood and, with silent but quick steps advanced to the other door aside from where she was, locking herself in there.

(Knock, Knock) "Rapunzel? Is everything alright?" Sounded the soft question of her mother through the door's white wood; she tried to get inside but the blonde was still blocking the access to the dormitory.

"Of course it's alright! Why it wouldn't be!? I told you it was the computer! I have it under control!" Rapunzel answered in frantic shouts, doing a pathetic job to disguise her despair.

"You don't sound alright, why is the door closed? … And what is the phone doing in the carpet?" The brunette insisted in trying to enter, but not pushing too hard.

"Everything's fine! There's nothing to worry about! Just… Don't come in!"

(…)

"Rapunzel… Are you watching porn?"

"What!? MOM!"

"I just want to tell you: There's nothing wrong with it, it's completely normal for a girl of your age to feel some curiosity about your body and-"

"Mom! I really would love to have some privacy now if you don't mind!"

"Alright, we'll talk in the morning… _I love you!_" With that her mother's presence faded in the form of footsteps slowly getting away to culminate in the gentle noise of another door closing at the end of the passageway.

"Ugh… that was close…" Rapunzel slid her back over the wood until she could sit in the carpet, sighing deeply in full relief while her green-emeral eyes were peacefully shut and her chin pointed to the roof.

"I-Is it safe now?" Cautiously Anna peeked through the small gap of the bathroom's door.

"Yeah, It's safe…" The blonde stood up as the princess came out completely to the dormitory.

"So *cough* what's next then?" The princess asked shyly.

"Well: It's very late now and I can't ask you to sleep in the couch" Rapunzel replied "Though Flynn once slept there and said it was awesome, better than his own bed"

Anna kept silence, obviously not knowing who the girl was referring to, but she suppressed the urge to ask to avoid another uncomfortable conversation.

"I… I guess you're just gonna' have to sleep with me tonight…" The blonde resumed, scratching the back of her neck nervously, then a simultaneous blush crept over both girl's faces "I- I can lend you a pajama if you like since… well… your clothes are completely soaked, and…"

"Oh! That… That would be nice…" As a matter of instinct: The princess looked down at her garments, forgetting about its cold and wetness due to all the recent scandal; she clasped her hands together, rubbing her knuckles anxiously as one strange tingling heat began to crawl upon her belly, everything was going too fast isn't it?

* * *

><p>After a little while: Rapunzel in her black pajama with white polka dots and Anna, replacing her winter clothing with a borrowed night-suit were lying together in the only bed of the dormitory; their heads delicately sunk in the softness of the white pillows just as their bodies gently covered by the warm quilted blankets.<p>

Fortunately the mattress was big enough for them to keep an arm of distance from each other and still have a considerable space to rest comfortably.

The lights were off, the moonlight intruding through the huge window in the room built a calm atmosphere of black and blue, outlining the contours of the items and the furniture; it was impossible to not get somnolent with this conditions… Except for the girls inside the dormitory.

Both the blonde and the princess were gazing deeply at the roof, waiting for the sleep to come, meanwhile they were submerged in an awkward silence, clasping the sheets nervously and being carefully to not move a muscle or even produce any sort of sound, restlessness was primal in their minds.

Even though it was simply by the corner of her eye: Rapunzel could notice the saddened stare of Anna, and how she sighed wearily several times, almost in a nostalgic way; she's been gentle and offered the mysterious lady a refugee for the night, however there wasn't really much she could do to make her feel comfortable, yet there was something else she wished to try…

"Good night…" Sounded timidly from Rapunzel's lips, barely audible.

"Ah! Goo… Good night…" The sentence took Anna by surprise, dragging her out of her thoughts; after the reply she just turned away to face the window, still incapable of reaching the slumber.

No harm was made: At last the blonde gave up and started to search for her own dreams, shutting her eyelids peacefully and humming quietly a song for lulling herself.

"What are you humming?" Suddenly the princess peeked curiously from above her shoulder, her interest genuinely captured by the curious blonde's beautiful voice.

"Oh, it's just a little jingle my mother used to sing me when I got sick" Now Rapunzel was the surprised one "Sorry if I awoke you, I'll just shut up now…"

"No, I wasn't sleeping…" Anna carefully turned again, having the blonde in front of her this time "I… How the song goes? I-If you don't mind singing it for me, of course…" The request came with the brightest of blue eyes supported by the moonshine, sufficiently noticeable to divert the attention from her burning red freckled cheeks.

Slowly Rapunzel moved to face the princess; she cleared her throat softly and took a deep breath before starting interpreting her childhood melody.

"_Flower, gleam and glow…_

_Let your power shine…_

_Make the clock reverse…_

_Bring what once was mine…"_

From this point Anna's eyelids began to flutter open and shut, her lips twitched into a light smile.

"_Heal what has been hurt…_

_Change the fate's design…_

_Save what has been lost…_

_Bring back what once was mine…_

_What once was mine…"_

The princess loss all consciousness: She was now happily asleep with nearly inaudible snores, her breathing blowing as gently as the spring wind; the verses also left Rapunzel drowsy, proud with herself she stared back at the roof, yawning silently, ready for the dream's realm to take her away, but dragging with her every preoccupation that Anna's presence implied, not letting her rest properly.

'_What I got myself into?'_


End file.
